CMS Women's Swimming and Diving Places 13th in Preseason Division III Coaches Poll
CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's swimming and diving team placed 13th in the NCAA Division III preseason coaches poll, it was announced today by the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America.
The Athenas finished 19th at the NCAA Division III Championships a year ago, and have 10 of the 11 student-athletes who competed at last year's nationals returning this year. Diver Maia Presti was the only senior among the 11 Athenas who traveled to Indianapolis last year, giving this year's team a wealth of depth as it looks to win a SCIAC title and improve its standing at the NCAA Championships.
Junior Jocelyn Crawford returns this season after earning a ninth-place finish in the 50 free at the NCAA Championships a year ago, winning the consolation heat in a school-record 23.34. Her efforts earned her honorable-mention All-America honors, as did junior Claire Bacon-Brenes, who finished 14th in the 100 breast and won the SCIAC in the 200 breast.
Sophomore Mia Syme qualified in both distance events last year, coming in 19th place in the 1650 and winning the SCIAC title in the 500, while junior Bryn Edwards came in 20th in the 100 breast. Senior Emma Stacy, senior Riley Hoffman, sophomore Natalia Orbach-Mandel, sophomore Allie Umemoto, sophomore Laura Dickinson and sophomore Janet Tran also competed in the national championships in relays.
Emory was picked first in the preseason poll with 400 points, followed by Denison in second with 382. Kenyon, Williams and Johns Hopkins were in the 3-5 spots, followed by MIT, WashU, NYU, Amherst and Carnegie Mellon rounding out the top 10.
CMS opens its 2018-19 schedule in less than two weeks when it travels to compete in a dual meet with UC San Diego on Saturday, Oct. 27.
To view the full CSCAA Preseason Coaches polls, go to the following link:
CSCAA Preseason Polls